Londontimes Barack Obama took a potentially decisive step towards the Democratic nomination today after scoring a big victory in North Carolina and forcing the Indiana election down to the wire.

Mr Obama's big win in the Tar Heel state robbed Mrs Clinton of the "game changing" victory she badly needed to alter the course of the Democratic nomination battle, while the closeness of the race in Indiana added to the sense that she is rapidly running out of time to wrench the nomination from her rival's grasp.

REUTERS, Moscow - Dmitry Medvedev was sworn in as president in a solemn ceremony in the Kremlin's throne room on Wednesday, ushering in an unprecedented period of dual rule with his predecessor Vladimir Putin, who becomes prime minister.

Medvedev, a 42-year-old former corporate lawyer and longtime Putin ally, placed his hand on a red, leather-bound copy of the Russian constitution to take the oath of office before 2,000 invited guests.

REUTERS, Tokyo - The leaders of Japan and China vowed on Wednesday to deepen trust and cooperate on issues from climate change to regional security, and said they were on track to resolve a feud over energy rights in the East China Sea.

Friction over history, undersea gas reserves, military plans, international influence and consumer safety has divided the neighbors, and mutual public distrust runs deep.

REUIERS, Washington - The World Food Program, facing an unprecedented surge in the price of food it buys for the world's hungry, has secured about 60 percent of the extra funds it needs to cover planned aid donations this year, the head of the United Nations agency said on Tuesday.

"We put out an extra appeal for $755 million and we're about 60 percent of the way there," WFP Executive Director Josette Sheeran said during a speech at a Washington think tank.

REUTERS, Beijing - A prominent Chinese doctor said China's deadly hand, foot and mouth outbreak will not become another epidemic on the scale of the SARS virus, even as the numbers of reported cases mounted on Wednesday.

Hand, foot and mouth is a common childhood illness, but the current outbreak has led to some 27 fatalities, mostly when linked with enterovirus 71 (EV71), which can cause a severe form of the disease,

REUTERS, NEW YORK - Yahoo Inc may not be celebrating the end of takeover talks with Microsoft Corp, but their mutual rival Google Inc should feel free to pop the champagne cork.

The rift between Microsoft and Yahoo leaves the online advertising market wide open to Google's expansion. What's more, it puts Google in the coveted position of deciding the fate of its closest rival, analysts said. Microsoft withdrew a $47.5 billion offer for Yahoo on Saturday after the Internet company dug in for a higher price.

REUTERS, BRUSSELS - European Union finance ministers are set to agree next week that financial institutions must disclose all risk exposure by the time they publish mid-year results, a document showed on Wednesday.

The ministers from the 27-nation bloc meet next Wednesday for an update on steps taken to bolster pan-EU financial market supervision, ensure financial stability, and deal with fallout from the global credit crunch.

REUTERS, Baltimore - Carolyn Stanley, a single mother with five children, receives $327 in food stamps each month to feed her family. With prices for staples like bread and cheese going ever higher, each month is harder than the last.

She buys hot dogs over higher-quality meat and feeds her kids cereal, but even with other government support she often has to seek help from local churches and from friends.

RMG sector is evolving into the largest employer of workers .But , workers’ wages, other benefits and welfare needs are not increasing consistently . In the latest incident , at least thirty people, including journalists who were on the spot ,were injured as nearly five thousand workers of three garments factories clashed with police engaged in maintaining order , at Kalurghat industrial area. The trouble started on Monday when at one of the factories the workers came to know that the management has reduced their wage rates .

REUTERS, LONDON - The England and Wales Cricket Board released the dates for Australia's 2009 tour on Monday, including the five Ashes tests, a seven-game, one-day series and two Twenty20 internationals.

The schedule includes Australia's first one-day international at Hampshire's Rose Bowl in Southampton and two Twenty20 matches at Old Trafford, Manchester.

Traffic on the road from Bahaddarhat to Kalurghat in the port city screeched to a halt for six hours Tuesday as the garment workers at Kalurghat BSCIC industrial district blockaded the streets over pay hike, reports bdnews24.com. The rampaging workers

Chief adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed met with president Iajuddin Ahmed Tuesday at the Bangabhaban to brief him on the activities of the emergency administration, the president's press secretary said.

The chief adviser informed the president about the preparations for the forthcoming national dialogue with the political parties and holding of general elections in line with the roadmap, press secretary Abdul Awal Howlader told

The army on Tuesday responded to reports on Phulbari coalmine project area and the involvement of the army carried by Bangla and English newspapers on May 5.

The Inter-Service Public Relations Directorate quoted the reports as saying that some army personnel in uniform had travelled the project area and asked the people whether they would leave the Phulbari village for compensation.

Bdnews24.com Bangladeshi commodities are lagging in the international market as Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution is not a member of international quality control organisations such as OIML, CIPM and MRA, an official said Tuesday.

BSTI director (metrology) Lutfur Rabbi made the disclosure at a meeting of BSTI officials with the chief adviser's special assistant in charge of the industry ministry Mahbub Jamil Tuesday.

A Dhaka court has reset the next hearing for May 12 in a graft case against Sheikh Hasina involving 'illegal contracts' for setting up three barge-mounted power plants during her term as prime minister, reports bdnews24.com.

Judge Md Feroz Alam of the Special Judge's Court, set up in the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban, re-fixed the date Tuesday after hearing a plea to withdraw all charges against former power secretary Toufiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury, another accused in the case.